July 4th Pig Roast

This past friday was July 4th, and I felt it was time to celebrate our independence from the British empire the way Americans should celebrate: by getting drunk with friends.  However, I felt that, given all the recent issues and troubles our nation has been experiencing, from erosion of constitutional civil liberties to economics woes and war, we needed something a little extra.  Thus, the first annual July 4th Pig roast celebration was born.  Complete with homebrew!

This party had been on my mind for month, since February after we held our much-delayed 2nd annual Gregtoberfest.  In anticipation, I searched online for recipes of beers from some of our great founding fathers and came across three:  George Washington’s Porter, Ben Franklin’s Spruce Ale, and Thomas Jefferson’s Wheat beer.  Given that I dont enjoy porters, I ruled out George Washington’s beer for now.  The spruce ale sounded very intriguing, and the Maryland homebrew store does have spruce extract for such such an occasion, but I decided to leave this beer for an experimental batch for myself, rather than give to people.  Thus, Thomas Jefferson’s recipe was chosen.  Preparation began in April and the beer was racked in early May, about when i started searching for the pig.

My usual butcher (J.W. Treuth) did not have whole hogs for sale, and being that I dont like small undertakings, I continued to search for a good one.  Luckily, my boss informed me of Wagner’s our in New Market, MD.  I called them up and very quickly they informed me I could have any size hog I wanted, and the different prices associated with the poundage.  I settled on a 37.5 lb pig and we agreed on a pickup date and that was that.  I was the proud potential owner of a pig.  The next issue was clear…. How to cook it?

If there’s one thing any good American knows, it’s that BBQ is awesome, and that roasted meats are awesome (sorry pescatarians and such, I dont mean to offend, I’m just stating my opinions on the matter).  After weeks of searching through recipes and consulting cooks, I decided to follow a rough estimate of what the internet Italians call ‘porchetta”.  When I finally got my pig, I salted the meat for 24hrs, squeezed lemon juice on the skin (it helps break down the fats under the skin) and added cracked black pepper to the animal and let it sit in my fridge.  The following 12 hrs I added a bit more salt, stuffed the pig with many (and I do mean many) garlic cloves, fresh sage leaves, rosemary and some fennel, along with 4 lbs of loose sage sausage.  I then proceeded to sew up the animal, and inserted garlic cloves in various places under the skin and let the animal sit in the fridge overnight, for the roasting day.  I also prepared a basting solution of water, salt, olive oil, black pepper corns, garlic, fennel, rosemary, oregano, sugar and a medium sweetness blush wine.  Keep in mind this was basting for a large animal for several hours, so the total solution volume must have been well over a gallon… for your own preparation records!

Come July 4th, I awoke and ran downstairs, possibly more excited than a kid at christmas.  I assembled a spit that one of my Greek friend’s mother’s was gracious enough to lend to me, skewered the pig, tied him up and started the coals.  By 9am, I had the pig roasting on the fire, trying to be careful to keep the coals near the hams and shoulders, since these are thicker parts and require more heat than the gut.  Almost exactly 6 hours of roasting later, the pig was done and left to cool on a table, prepared for butchering when guests arrived.  And arrive they did!  Over the course of 9 hours, we must have put down easily 200 beers, a small pony keg of heineken, several bottles of wine, and a couple shots of tequila.  oh, and some pig brains too.  Approx. 50 people made their way through my house, consuming almost all the food and almost all the beer.  The perfect party!  The pig was a little salty, which I felt went well with the beer available.  The TJ wheat beer was a hit as well (though I felt it lacked a little something extra… maybe next time!).  All in all, things worked out well.

In the end, I realized that when you roast an animal, people come from all sorts of places to eat it.  However, I am looking forward to my next excuse to roast an animal.  Anyone have any good reasons excuses??